# The Macallan 18 YR... am I in trouble here?



## Genevapics

Earlier this month, I went to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant here in Wilmington, DE. They had The Macallan 18 and I decided to pull the trigger. It was $14/glass and served in a snifter.

When the drink arrived, I picked up the glass and nosed the beverage. Oh my goodness! I could detect butterscotch, vanilla, caramel, and a slight citrus note. I put the glass to my lips and tasted the scotch. It was very smooth. Some hints of alcohol, but not that burning feeling that I have had with most scotch. The Macallan 18 warmed my mouth and throat without "the burn".

All I can say is that The Macallan 18 is the best scotch I have ever tried (which is very few). My first scotch purchase was a bottle of Balvanie 15 YR. It was nice, but nothing like The Macallan 18. A bottle of The Macallan 18 retails for $129 (all in) here in Delaware. That's where the "trouble" comes in. So, my question to the scotch drinkers on the board: What else from the Speyside region compares favorably with The Macallan 18? And maybe a little more $ friendly. Also, any better prices out there in the on-line world? Thanks.


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## adsantos13

Try to find some Glenfarclas 17. Can be had for around ~$89 and is just as good (IMHO better) than the Macallan. 

Glenfarclas 21 is ~$100, and the 25 is ~$115, so you can go that route too and still save money!

FWIW, this single malt is independantly owned and the operation is family run. Top notch in every way.

EDIT:Oh, yes, you are in trouble!


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## billybarue

this was a pretty good post on some value "Macallan 18 YR" picks if you can find them.

Is that Miles Davis in your avatar ????

Cheers,

BillyBarue


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## Genevapics

adsantos13 said:


> Try to find some Glenfarclas 17. Can be had for around ~$89 and is just as good (IMHO better) than the Macallan.
> 
> Glenfarclas 21 is ~$100, and the 25 is ~$115, so you can go that route too and still save money!
> 
> FWIW, this single malt is independantly owned and the operation is family run. Top notch in every way.


Very nice alternatives. I will try to sample a few of these in the next few weeks.



adsantos13 said:


> EDIT:Oh, yes, you are in trouble!


Yeah, I am pretty much staring into the abyss!


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## trogdor | the burninator

i've never had the pleasure of having any macallan 18, but one of my favorite single-malts is Lagavulin 16. it's an island malt with a really nice smoked taste. 

my friend was a Glenfiddich 18 diehard until he tried the Lagavulin 16. personally, i think the glenfiddich 18 tastes like mouth wash. i used to pick up the lagavulin from Costco for about $65....you can also get it from BevMo if you have it out there.


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## niterider56

If you have Costco in Delaware and if they sell booze you might try looking for the kirkland brand of scotch. 19 year old Mccallans and it is very tasty, especially at $72 a bottle.


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## Blaylock-cl

OK, you've convinced me that I gonna have to give this a try.

If I'm not mistaken, you spoke highly of this at our herf.


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## Genevapics

Blake Lockhart said:


> OK, you've convinced me that I gonna have to give this a try.
> 
> If I'm not mistaken, you spoke highly of this at our herf.


Yeah, I had it on Saturday. Pricey, but delicious nonetheless. My suggestion to you is find a place up where you are and do some sampling. In fact, if you find a bar/pub around your area that has a nice selection of single malts, let me know and I will drive up and sample with you.

Two weeks ago, I picked up my second bottle of single malt ever... The Macallan 12 yr. Another of their sherry wood finished malts. Similiar characteristics as the 18 yr, but not as refined. But at $47/bottle you really can't go wrong. I saw the same bottle a day latter at a Total Wine Store for $37/bottle. The Macallan 18 yr is $129/bottle.

I am serious though, if you find a place that has a nice selection of single malts, shoot me a PM and I'll make the drive up.


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## omowasu

niterider56 said:


> If you have Costco in Delaware and if they sell booze you might try looking for the kirkland brand of scotch. 19 year old Mccallans and it is very tasty, especially at $72 a bottle.


Agreed, an amazingly smooth scotch, Macallan 19y rebranded as Kirkland. Our Costco is sold out and they are not expecting any more soon.

I think Trader Joes also has a variant of the aged Macallan.


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## billybarue

I screwed up above and didn't post the link that talks about the Costco and Trader Joes versions of the Macallan 18 year. If you are near a TJs that sells liquor it's only $45 a bottle!! Here it is:

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=51756&page=3


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## benatlexus

I am on my way to Costco now!!!!


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## stig

Try the MacCallan Cask Strengh, you'll never be the same.


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## dayplanner

billybarue said:


> I screwed up above and didn't post the link that talks about the Costco and Trader Joes versions of the Macallan 18 year. If you are near a TJs that sells liquor it's only $45 a bottle!! Here it is:
> 
> http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthread.php?t=51756&page=3


This very interesting post comes from here:
http://sfchicken.com/2007/01/macallan-18-year-scotch.html

[BEGIN POST]
Macallan 18 Year Scotch

When my father was visiting San Francisco, we went to Trader Joe's, and he pointed out the different types of Scotch brands they carry, with a combined TJ's/Scotch distillery label. One that particularly caught my eye was the Macallan 18 brand bottled by TJ's.

The TJ's bottle says "Distilled, Matured and Bottled in Scotland - Distilled at Macallan - Aged 18 Years". They sell it for around $45 at TJ's, and it runs for around $145 a bottle for non-TJ's Macallan 18. What is the catch? My father and I pondered this and came to the conclusion that Macallan must have had an excess of inventory and was willing to sell some to TJ's. But, is it exactly the same thing? If so, who would pay three times as much for the same liquid? I decided that I should write Macallan and TJ's on their websites. Here are the responses I got back, from Macallan first:

_It is legitimate in that it uses liquid from The Macallan still house. However, we had no control over the type of maturation or the final quality of the liquid that was bottled so it is most certainly not an
official Macallan.

We have not had the opportunity to sample this so cannot compare and contrast with our own 18 years old._

Then from TJ's:

_Yes, it is 18-year-old Macallan Scotch. We purchase whole casks from the distillery and have it bottled for Trader Joe's. It's that price just because that's how we buy things. No middlemen, no huge retail mark-ups. We try to offer truly everyday low prices. Thanks for dropping us a line._

So, the long of the short of it is, they both agree it is actual Macallan liquid form the Macallan distillery. How much does the bottling and quality control matter? I finally got a chance to determine this for myself last night, when I ordered a glass of Macallan 18, neat with a splash of water. Very smooth. I then had a glass of the TJ's kind, and must say, it seems to taste just as smooth. I would still like to have a side by side comparison, but as it stands, I would say the TJ's kind is great.

Does anyone but me care about this discovery?
[END POST]


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## opus

Don't know about the TJs version, but the Kirkland stuff is most excellent and worth the coin.


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## mosesbotbol

Bowmore is a brand that has a really strong price-point; at least in Boston.


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## billybarue

rdcross said:


> Does anyone but me care about this discovery?
> [END POST]


YES - Thanks for the investigative work. I didn't have any Macallan in the house to do a side-by-side either. I need to get around to that. Thanks for the research.

BillyBarue


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## ATLHARP

Genevapics said:


> Earlier this month, I went to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant here in Wilmington, DE. They had The Macallan 18 and I decided to pull the trigger. It was $14/glass and served in a snifter.
> 
> When the drink arrived, I picked up the glass and nosed the beverage. Oh my goodness! I could detect butterscotch, vanilla, caramel, and a slight citrus note. I put the glass to my lips and tasted the scotch. It was very smooth. Some hints of alcohol, but not that burning feeling that I have had with most scotch. The Macallan 18 warmed my mouth and throat without "the burn".
> 
> All I can say is that The Macallan 18 is the best scotch I have ever tried (which is very few). My first scotch purchase was a bottle of Balvanie 15 YR. It was nice, but nothing like The Macallan 18. A bottle of The Macallan 18 retails for $129 (all in) here in Delaware. That's where the "trouble" comes in. So, my question to the scotch drinkers on the board: What else from the Speyside region compares favorably with The Macallan 18? And maybe a little more $ friendly. Also, any better prices out there in the on-line world? Thanks.


For a really good scotch I would try the Glenrothes Speyside Single Malt 1991.

Here is their website:http://www.glenrotheswhisky.com/

The 1991 is probably the best I have had in its price range. I would also suggest some other lower end 12 yrs. made by Macallan like Sean Michael's and the Kirkland (available at Costco).

Each of these is quite good.

ATL


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